Lian Yu: Off the record
by TheFleet
Summary: What if Oliver Queen hadn't shipwrecked on Lian Yu? What if he hadn't even gone the Gambit? What if the fateful voyage of the Gambit never even happened? What if instead, some other unfortunate soul arrived on the island?
1. Chapter 1

"Terribly sorry about this ma'am." The man said as he helped the girl get her bags. "But if you want the good news, there is another plane. The bad news is, it's a cargo plane."

"Is it heading for London though?" The girl asked as she got her suitcase. "I really do need to be home on time."

"It is." The man smiled. "Step this way and we'll be off in less than twenty minutes."

"Alright then. Thank you very much." The girl replied as she followed the manager who led through the airport.

"How was your trip by the way?"

"It was very nice."

"You here as an exchange student?"

"No. I am actually here to visit my uncle in Hong Kong. The man's been here ever since he was married. It's really nice there. His family is too. The food was truly the most exotic thing and maybe even the best thing. Rubbish. The best thing was being with my uncle. Haven't seen him in five years."

"That's very nice." The manager replied. "I didn't catch your name."

"Matilda." Matilda said as they approached the plane. "Quite the large contraption you got there."

"It'll get you home. Take care." The manager said as he left. "The pilot and co-pilot are pretty nice people. You should get to know them before you go."

Matilda nodded as she went up the steps, waiting to meet the crew of the plane.

* * *

"Hello there miss! Names Giles! Nice to meet you. And this is Warren!"

"Hey. Am I the only passenger?"

"You indeed are! But of course, there is the company of a few tons worth of mail and delivery baggage and what not..." Giles said. "But of course, make yourself at home anywhere you want on this fine piece of machinery. Warren and I will probably just stay in the cabin the entire time. Now you can watch... but if you're hoping to fly this thing, you're out of luck."

"I don't think I will be too interested in that department." Matilda said as she got on. "I suppose it won't hurt to catch up on my reading."

"Alright then kid. Take care. There's some candy down there if you like."

"That'll be lovely." Matilda said as she went down to the lower deck of the aircraft. "When do we take off?"

"In ten minutes. Get ready!" Giles said as he called down to Matilda.

* * *

Matilda looked outside of the airplane as two hours hit the clock. The sight was indeed beautiful. If only she could get a better view out of it instead of this tiny crack of a window.

Giving up after trying to see the sunset better, she went back to the place where she had unpacked. Finding her comb, she went to the lavatory to do her hair once again. There was just some... some loneliness about being on a vehicle that normally had about a few hundred people that sat with you. Something about it just felt rather off.

But frankly. It was actually nice having a plane all to yourself. Well. The storage area was kinda unsafe but still. It was lot of space to have to yourself on a plane ride though there was a slight lonely feel to it.

That didn't really matter anyways. She'd be home in about eight hours and feeling a bit drowsy, that'd be no time at all. The only thing she'd have to worry about was probably the jetlag. If anything, sleeping would be easy considering that there were ACTUAL BEDS on this flight. Now that was something truly wonderful to have up here at 30,000 feet.

Covering herself with the sheet, Matilda closed her eyes and allowed herself to slip to dream land. In her dreams, she dreamed of her family, her parents and the idyllic british suburbs.

* * *

She wasn't sure how long she slept, but it certainly didn't matter when you were thrown out of the bunk and your whole world felt like it was about to literally turn upside down. It took much longer than it would have under ordinary circumstances, but Matilda managed to pull herself to the cabin, where Giles and Warren were busy fighting the controls.

"What's going on here?"

"Turbulence! Blast it all!" Warren said as the plane jittered and shuttered.

"Are we going to be alright?"

"Of course!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course miss. This plane is built of a stur..."

Without warning, the plane shook loudly as a massive explosion engulfed the back sections of the aircraft. The vast array of computers and machinery aboard began to beep non-stop as Giles and Warren milled about in panic.

"Engines 1, 3 and 5 are dead!"

"Try to keep her steady mate! Come on... try something!"

"The controls are fried! What the hell happened?!"

"It's... I don't know! I think our engines malfunctioned! We got to bail and we got to do it now!"

"How?! Where?! We're above the goddamn ocean!"

"There's a life raft in the back... hey Matilda... hurry up and get it! The thing inflates by itself!"

"On it!"

"Good. We're gonna do an emergency landing... this is going to get rough!"

Matilda nodded as she scrambled into the back to find the container. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, the valuable and perhaps life-saving device seemed to be hiding from her as if it was the one in peril. With a bit of fortune, Matilda found the raft, it had hit on the head.

Everything was in a haze as she felt herself and her world go a bit woozy. She recalled the two men in their panic open one of the emergency doors. She recalled the inflation of the device and how a life-vest was placed around her neck. She remembered hazily that all three of them got on the raft. And then, all she remembered was the pitch blackness.

* * *

"Uh... what happened?" Matilda asked as she regained consciousness. She was given no reply.

"Giles? Warren?"

No reply.

Painfully picking herself up, Matilda felt the coolness of damp clothing brush against her skin and at the same time, the heat of the island while a pleasant one, wasn't so much so when you felt like you were being blasted with air conditioner and a heater at the same time.

As she limped along the sandy shoreline, she wondered whether or not if there was a way off.

To her delight and initial happiness, she was able to spot a group of figures in the distance. With some new found strength, she began to walk at a slightly faster pace towards them her legs still cramped. It didn't take too long for her to be in shouting distance, but to her, it seemed like an eternity.

"Giles! I've be..." She stopped mid sentence the moment she realized that it was not Giles or Warren she had been speaking too. Rather, a masked man who had a gun to her head the moment he noticed her.

"Don't move."She didn't even get a chance to reply as the rifle came crashing down on her head.


	2. Chapter 2

To Matilda, it seemed like the good majority of the day was in a hazy dream state. She couldn't even remember if Giles or Warren had been with her on the life raft, nor could she really remember what happened next when she ran into the people on the shore. All she knew was a sharp pain in the back of her head and the world shaking around like a slippery camera.

It took a while. And by a while, we mean at least a few hours, but she finally began to have a slight grip again on reality, starting with the fact that she found herself being dragged along... somewhere. The ringing pain the back of her head made everything hard to focus on. All she could make out was incomprehensible speaking and the fact that her shoes were sopping with muddy water which wasn't really that much of a problem when she felt that whomever was handling her really wasn't too interested in whether or not she'll take a few cuts and bruises along the way.

She fully regained herself when she hit a wooden pole. Whomever was dragging her along had decided to abandon her to wherever she was, and she was left alone in her dazed state as her fuzzy eyesight began to fix itself. But as it turned out, she wasn't alone.

"Please, sit. You're making me feel rude." A voice with a rather familiar accent called out to her. The voice came from a man with a familiar accent. British in origin most likely.

Painfully, Matilda practically fell down upon the chair. Her body aflame with pain as she stared into the eyes of the uniformed man. His blue eyes were cold as ice, staring back in her's.

"I do apologize my men's treatment of you." The man said as he cracked open a can of soda. The next few words hardly mattered to Matilda nor did she really bother to listen as she stared greedily at the liquid, realizing the thirst that shot through her body was almost as great as the pain.

"I am Edward Fyers by the way." Fyers said as he leaned back behind his desk. "And you are?"

"Ma...Matilda. Matilda Darlington." Matilda gasped as she continued to stare at the soda. She felt almost compelled to...

"Oh please. Help yourself, kid." Fyers said as he nudged the glass of cold liquid into her direction. She gulped the entire down in record time, continuing to suck on the ice for any more of the coolness that soothed her parched throat.

"Thank you." Matilda said as she looked back at Fyers. "My plane crashed here... or somewhere around here."

"Unfortunate no doubt. A fine young lady as yourself seems to be out of place on this island. But for the moment... let's just talk."

"About what?" Matilda asked quizzically as Fyers leaned back to grab a photo.

"Well for instance, this gentleman." Fyers said as he showed her the photo. "Do you know him?"

"No." Matilda said after taking a careful look. "You and your men are the only people I've met on this island."

"I don't like liars." Fyers said as his voice began to carry a menacing undertone. "Allow me to ask you again, and look me in the eye when you say it, have you seen him?"

"No... no..." Matilda said as she swallowed hard. "I swear!"

Fyers eyed for a moment. Sitting back, he placed a hand to his chin as if contemplating Matilda's words. After what seemed like an eternity, he seemed to come to a decision.

"Very well. I believe you." Fyers said as he sat back up.

"Okay. So can I go now? Is there a way out?" Matilda asked hopefully now that her interrogator seemed to have trusted her word.

"Do you know what this island is named?" Fyers asked as a lone soldier walked in the tent which Matilda only noticed much later. For now, she shook her head to the question though it seemed rhetorical.

"We're on Lian Yu. Mandarin for purgatory." Fyers said as he got up. "But I can make it feel like hell."

Matilda felt herself sink slowly in the ground as Fyers' cold eyes stared into hers which were a beautiful shade of blue.

"But of course..." Fyers said his voice now carried less of it's threatening undertone as he sat back down. "That won't be necessary. I am certain it's not every school girl that has the misfortune of being stranded on such a terrible place. And you know what? I'll do you a favor. I'll get you out."

Any other day, Matilda may have been more than just happy to hear the words "I'll get you out" but all she could feel was her heart sinking down in the depths of her stomach.

"Don't make a mess." Fyers said to the soldier. Before she knew it, Matilda felt herself being dragged along again, this time into the woods.

* * *

"No...No...NO!" Matilda cried out as she tried to resist her executioner. It was hardly of any use as the masked man could have easily taken on ten people of her stature and size.

"Stop struggling..." He hissed as he punched her in the gut, causing her to bend on in pain. Another blow from a rifle but to the legs caused her to lie facedown on the ground, out of breath and with a ringing pain in her legs.

She couldn't get up. She just couldn't. The pain, the disorientation, the fact that her lungs were depraved of air. All she could do was listen. Listen to the sounds of a gun cocking and it's safety being removed. All she could do was close her eyes, and hope it'd be over quickly.

Except it didn't end there. She heard the sound of an angry buzz and a small wet splat. Looking up, she saw her would-be executioner stare into the arrow that had gone straight through his chest before he fell down, dead as a doornail.

Looking up a bit more, and she'd see the man in the greenhood with the bow. As she slowly got herself into a situation, she could only stare as the man extended out his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Matilda took a deep breath and slight sigh of relief as the man in the greenhood signaled her to take a seat. They were in a cave of some sort that was most likely the bloke's home. She had been able to get a glimpse of his face, and it could be assumed that those masked men and that Edward Fyers were looking for him.

"Are you hurt?" The Chinese man asked through his thick accent.

"I am fine." Matilda said. Sure. She was FINE but her body was wracked with pain and she was probably in the worst state of discomfort she had ever been in a long time. She looked back at the man as he held up a small bag. Medicine most likely.

"Island dangerous." He said as he handed her a small bag. "Take it. I lead them off. You stay."

As he headed out to leave he had one last thing to say.

"Remember! Everything breathes. You breathe, you survive here longer."

"Wait what..."

The fall of rocks drowned out any further objection or comment she had. She had just been saved by some man in a green hood. And now, she had just been imprisoned by him in a cave.

Well. At least there's food and water.

* * *

She wasn't really sure what was worse. The fact that she was turning into an insomniac, the fact that she hadn't eaten in two days, the fact that the water just ran out today or maybe, she was marooned on an island in the middle of nowhere, first being captured by some... ruffians who were obviously up to no good and now being sealed in a cave by some Chinese man who certainly feels off and...

Wait a minute... Edward Fyers was looking for a Chinese man on this island... this man was Chinese and...

Okay. Maybe there were a ton of Chinese people on this island... but considering he was the only one she saw, it could be safe to assume that Fyers was looking for this man. What was his name again? Maybe she'll have to ask him when...

The sound of rocks falling apart would have made her scream if she had the energy to, both with joy and with fright. The man in the greenhood with the bow was back and to be honest, he was kinda scary. But he had a metal container with him and that was surely a sight for sore eyes.

"You not eh, good?" The man asked. He wasn't wearing his hood this time and it was now clear to tell that that this was the man that Fyers was looking for.

"Where've you been?" Matilda asked as she saw the light of day for the first time in what seemed an eternity. The light almost blinded yet there was something so soothing, so comforting of being able to see it after being sealed in a cave for days. She received the metal container for an answer and frankly, that satisfied her as she opened the thing in less time than someone who hadn't touched food for a second day in a row should have under normal circumstances. Casting aside any daintiness that she would normally be acting under, the girl gulped the contents down in ten seconds flat. The moment she did, she heard the sound of something else being thrown down on the ground.

Edward Fyers.

Their eyes met for a moment. Though she didn't follow up on it not that even if she did, it'd do anything, she wanted nothing more than to slap him.

"Why?" She asked as she slowly got up. "Why?"

He gave no answer. Only looked back at her.

"What did I ever do that made you want to kill me?" Matilda asked, doing her best not to shout as she was brought up.

"Then you kill him." The Chinese man said as he held out a knife.

Something about his words. Something about the way he asked. It made Matilda shudder and back off. She stared back at Fyers who looked pretty pitiful in his current state of having received a good thrashing.

"Or... he can take you home."

"What?" Matilda asked as she looked up.

"He has a plane. A way for you off this island."

* * *

"You're a good kid." Fyers said as the trio walked through the forest. "I can see it in your eyes. I can see things like honesty, like kindness, like loyalty. Someone who clearly doesn't deserve to be on this island."

"Be quiet." Matilda sighed. She wasn't used to getting compliments from someone who wanted her killed. Rather, she wasn't used to anyone wanting her dead to begin with. But the point here was, she didn't want his compliments. They only added insult to injury.

"What do you know about him? That man you just met? Nothing I suspect. You just met him when he saved your life. Do you even know what this island is? It's a prison. I mean this literally. Until eight years ago, the Chinese military operated this island as a penitentiary as a criminal deemed so dangerous, they couldn't be safely incarcerated on the mainland. When the military shut the program down, by unit came in and disposed of all the inmates. With the exception of two. Your friend is one of them."

"Who's the other?" Matilda asked with an ever growing curiosity.

"You haven't met him yet. Trust me, you probably wouldn't want to."

"Not that I want to meet any of your other men. You almost had me killed."

"What would you do in my position? What would you do to capture the man who slaughtered dozens of people?"

"And how does killing me get you this man you're looking for?" Matilda asked rhetorically. "Keep moving Fyers. I am not buying it."

* * *

"Call your people. Tell them to bring the plane." The man said as he took out a walkie-talkie and held it to Fyers' mouth.

"There's no need Yao Fei. My people will be here shortly. Do you not think it convenient you captured me so easily?

In that moment. Matilda met the other inmate. An intimidating brute wearing a yellow and black mask armed with two swords.

* * *

Her lungs burned. Her throat burned. But what hurt most was somewhere in her chest. She could only watch as the inmate knocked Yao Fei out and they dragged him off. Somewhere.

She had remembered how he had handed her a small knife, how he had told her to go. And how she ran. How she could only run as bullets whizzed by her. How she was so scared.

Now, she looked back, the tears threatened to escape her eyes as she thought about the man who had just saved her life merely days ago, not knowing who she was and hardly caring for what would have happened to him in the process. She shook her head sadly as she moved on.

A small while later, it had begun to rain and the temperature began to drop quickly. She would need to make a fire. As she knelt by the pile of sticks and attempted to create even just a tiny spark, she kept on wondering how much she missed home. How much she missed the comfy apartment back in London and how she wished nothing more than just a soft bed and a hot meal or even just a friendly face. Or a face at all. Everyone seemed to be wearing masks.

As she thought about this, she watched as a small fire began to burn and she smiled to herself. Her first achievement on this godforsaken place.

Her smile didn't last when she heard the footsteps. In a flash, whatever feeling of triumph she had was replaced by an apprehension that gripped her tightly and refused to let go. Throwing whatever she could over the flame to hide it, Matilda quickly ran, taking the knife Yao Fei had given her.

Finding the nearest hiding spot, she dove behind a tree.

"I have contact. Two clicks southwest." The voice said. There was a beep of the walkie-talkie and nothing more.

Matilda took a small glance to see the masked man move in front of her hiding spot. Her hands both shook from fear and from the cold. Closing her eyes shut and taking the time to reassure herself, she broke cover and rushed him.

* * *

Had it not been for perhaps a stroke of luck and the element of surprise, Matilda would have been dead. Or worse.

The man was quick in avoiding her rather pitiful attempt at stabbing him. It ended only with her being pinned against a tree and trying to stab him, while he tried to pin her against the tree with one arm, and strangle her with the other.

It was through a bit of luck, that they both slipped at the same time and went tumbling off a ledge. Her foe wound up taking the full force of the fall which ended up in him in being killed instantaneously. While the fall left stinging pains in her forearms, she was overall unscatched.

She could only stare into the dead man's eyes that she had landed on. They burned two holes into her mind as she tried to suppress her want to cry out in horror...

Hey. Those boots of his. They seem to fit... and you know what? They're Lian Yu proof.


	4. Chapter 4

She sighed almost lovingly as she put on the boots. Surprisingly, they fit almost perfectly and were actually very comfortable, and not surprisingly, they kept water and mud out. For the first time on this island, she could say she was in a comfortable situation for herself.

She looked back at the rest of the gear. There was the subject of the clothes he had, which were probably better than a dress shirt and a skirt. Then again, while the boots fit, it was debatable whether or not the uniform and the pants would for rather obvious reason. Not to mention... there was something a bit wrong about undressing a corpse and stealing it's clothes. Stealing it's shoes... okay... maybe not so bad considering the circumstances and all but still...

She considered the gun. Problems would be that she hardly knew how to use one and pointing and shooting wasn't as easy as people made it sound. Not to mention, the thing was rather large, it'd be cumbersome and considering the amount of men Fyers' had, it'd be useless even if she could drop a single one of them.

Could she even a drop a single one of them if the need arose? This fellow died by misfortune. Could she kill another human being?

She tried not to think about that, but instead felt something in the dead man's pockets. Keys.

And a map.

It was a good thing Matilda did understand a bit of chinese. Of course, there'd be a lot of handwaving and such but she managed to make out names... unfortunately, that was about as far as she got. Everything else was written in Russian.

So apparently, the island's name is 炼狱 (Lian Yu) which was Mandarin for purgatory. That really wasn't news considering Fyers had mentioned it when they first met. The only other things worth mentioning were names of locations. Geographic locations which really wouldn't help if she wanted to find a way off. The things that must be related to Fyers and his equipment were probably the ones in Russian.

For some reason. Yao Fei popped into her head. The man had saved her life and now he was taken by them.

All of a sudden. She realized what the keys were probably for and what she needed to do.

* * *

Perhaps it was sheer luck. Perhaps it was coincidence. Or maybe, it was just a lucky guess.

Matilda watched from the distance, the building that contained several cells. A closer scrutiny would reveal that these weren't cells, but cages rather. They were patrolled by a few men, not enough to make slipping in impossible or even difficult for that matter, but just hard enough to make sure that whoever was running in had to be pretty damn careful.

Like a mouse in a den of cats, Matilda slipped toward the prison. Moving slowly, she waited for an opportunity to arise. Said opportunity arrived when the guards moved away after a rather long stretch of time. Most likely to change shifts.

Looking over the cages, she saw as a group of men began to converge upon the place. Seemed as though the replacements were rather quick and efficient.

Finding a good place to hide, Matilda quickly scurried out of sight, watching the new group of men.

"See, this is where we uh, detain prisoners prone to running off before I am finished with them."

She didn't know where it came from, but all she knew was that a hand had clasped over her mouth and a pistol was soon raised to her head. Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she felt herself forced in front of the men. She soon realized that it was Fyers who had been speaking.

"Prisoners. Like Ms. Darlington."

* * *

She had been locked in one of the cages for perhaps slightly more than a hour. All the while, she tried to rest, tried to get some sleep. All she could think of was home and Yao Fei.

The cane that tapped on her cage caused her to jolt wide awake from her state of being half asleep. Had she any more space, she would have retreated to the far end of the cage, though she already was at the far end. She could only look back at Fyers and the masked soldier he had brought with him.

"Do you know why my men wear balaclavas Matilda?" Fyers asked rhetorically. His only response was a silent shake of the head.

"Because it masks everything except for the eyes." He continued with a smile that made Matilda shiver like a dying leaf. "And in a man's eyes, you can always find the truth. Or in your case, in a girl's eyes, you can always find what type of person truly rests beneath. You risked everything to save your friend, someone I warned you about, yet you trusted him. But that trust was misplaced."

With a shake of the head, the other Soldier began to remove his mask.

Matilda could not believe her eyes.

It was Yao Fei.

* * *

"Why are you doing this to me?" Matilda asked as she sat upright in her cage. "I thought..."

She didn't finish her sentence. Only looked looked down as she buried her face in her hands for a while, Yao Fei watching her.

"Why did you save me if you were just going to hand me over to them?" She paused for a moment as she continued to try and think of something. "Please... can you get me out of here?"

The next few moments passed like an eternity as Matilda's eyes turned into the size of dinner plates. The two blue pearls almost had a voice to themselves as they pleaded to Yao Fei.

"I can't." Yao Fei said with regret as he placed a cup of water within the cage. He slowly left Matilda as she pressed herself against the bars, watching him fade away out of sight.

* * *

"Put these on." Fyers said as he tossed a bundle of clothes to Matilda. "They should fit."

"What are they?" Matilda asked as she went through the bundle. "A uniform?"

"It is." Fyers said. "Put it on."

"But..."

"Put it on." Fyers said as he turned around one final time. Matilda nodded as a scare shot through her, though...

It wasn't the putting on the clothes that'd be the difficult part. It'd be the undressing her current ones. The cage provided no cover whatsoever, and if anyone wanted to, they could watch her the entire time. That was when it had occurred to her that Fyers was still there. His cold eyes were focused on her. Thankfully, it was just him. For the time being.

Tossing off her dress shirt and tie, she placed on the uniform that Fyers had given her. Just like with the boots, they were surprisingly comfortable and would probably help keep the water and mud out.

Debatably. She wasn't sure which one would be better. Though her shirt was almost in pieces and ill-equipped for the climate, the skirt she had been wearing was holding out quite fine. The pants that went with the rest of the uniform were also comfortable and helped keep the weather out.

As she finished dressing, she turned back to Fyers who as it turned out, had still been watching. Much to Matilda's embarrassment.

"Oh trust me. What's on your mind won't be happening. That's your only solace. Speaking of which..."

The mercenary got up and left for a few moments. That didn't matter at all to Matilda as she sat back down, looking at her clothes she had before the island. She sighed to herself and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

"What's going on?" Matilda asked fearfully as she was led by Yao Fei. "Are we getting out of here?"

She was given no answer for both of these questions.

"Where are you taking me?" Matilda asked as Yao Fei continued to prod her firmly but not roughly to where they were going. A ring of men had gathered and were cheering... something.

That something was the man in the orange and black mask fighting another prisoner.

It soon became clear that this wasn't a "fight" more like a "beating" as the masked man continued to throw his fists at his helpless victim who was hardly able to even see the blows coming let alone defend himself. The sheer brutality and speed of the blows added much to Matilda's already immense fear of the mercenary who seemed to have a sickening sense of enjoyment in causing pain.

The "fight" ended with the masked man having his hand around the other man's arm. He received a nod from Fyers. Flipping his victim over like he weighed nothing, the masked man ran him through with both of his swords in a flash.

She didn't hear the words. The shouts or anything as a matter. She was only focused on staring at the corpse being carried out and she suddenly felt a dryness in her throat despite the fact that she wasn't at all thirsty.

Her legs grew weak when she felt herself being pushed into the ring. Her eyes went up slightly to meet the masked man's. His two eyes were like twin dark pits inside his head, staring at her as if opting to consume her.

"The point of these little gladiatorial distractions is to strengthen unit cohesion. To that end, I think our newest recruit will be afforded the opportunity to try her hand."

Matilda gave a small, almost inaudible whimper as she stared at Billy. He didn't say anything. Only pointed.

At Yao Fei.

The only solace she would receive, is perhaps that Yao Fei would not savage her the same way Billy would.


	5. Chapter 5

Matilda felt the past moments continue to flash through her eyes as Yao Fei held her in a chokehold. As Fyers would call it, that bout was "terribly one sided".

It had all started when the man in the orange and black mask had pointed out that she'd be fighting Yao Fei and not him. Naively, she had expected Yao Fei to be more... gentle in their spar. She couldn't have been more wrong.

Perhaps Yao Fei didn't enjoy being brutal. He clearly didn't seem to want to inflict any pain but he was doing a rather good job at doing it. This may be attributed to the fact that Yao Fei was a man who had been in many fights and would grievously injure anyone in the first few blows or maybe it was because that Matilda had never fought once in her life. Ever.

The petty argument or bicker amongst family and friends was one thing. An actual physical battle was something she had never been through, only read in the novels. As such, she had no clue how to handle herself.

When the first blow struck, she collapsed like a sack of grain in an instant. The jeering and laughter amongst the men that surrounded her only added insult to injury as she slowly got up again and tried to throw a punch. Of course, calling it a punch was probably an overstatement as Yao Fei hardly even felt it.

The rest of the "fight" if one could even call it that ended swiftly. As she was on the ground, struggling to get up, Yao Fei seized her gold locks and put an arm around her neck. And now Matilda soon found herself again in a chokehold as Yao Fei's arm tightened around her neck. Slowly, she felt the world begin to fade to black as she stopped kicking, her hands stopped trying to get Yao Fei off her neck and her eyelids felt heavy. The world soon faded to black as she lost consciousness.

* * *

Matilda would regain consciousness when she found herself washed up at the edge of a small pond. Oxygen had never tasted so good after her last memory. Perhaps this one time, air would taste far better than those cookies she baked with her mother.

As she crawled up the sand in her soaked clothes, she quickly thanked her lucky stars that her boots won't sopping wet and that they indeed were waterproof. Surprisingly, the sun of Lian Yu began to feel pleasant as it gently caressed her soaked self and the water felt almost refreshing.

There was something else though as she felt something in her pockets brushing against her. Two things. A small pouch that Yao Fei had given her the first time they met, and a map.

A map which had been marked with where she was and a route. Where it was, she didn't know. All she knew was the two words that marked the red marker.

生存. Shengcun.  
Chinese, for survive.

* * *

The walk wasn't an unpleasant one. It had been long and somewhat tiring though this was a blessing in disguise. The damp clothing made it impossible to feel hot under these conditions, as if she was warped in a refreshing sort of blanket that could adjust its temperature. And what was better was, at the end of the trip, her clothes may have been cool but they were mostly dry.

As she arrived to where the map told her to, she looked at the ruined plane along with bits and pieces strewn around the field. Gingerly, she found the entrance, though that would be somewhat unnecessary when the massive holes in the hull was considered.

Stepping into the aircraft, she took a small look around. It was empty. Not a single soul to be in sight but... was that a sleeping bag?

She didn't get to take a closer look. The blade that was held against her neck came out of nowhere as she felt herself back against something solid. Something alive.

"Twitch, and I will open your throat." The voice said.

Doing as she was told, Matilda went ramrod straight as she felt her heart pound heavily. Though her heart was racing, her mind was only able to tell one pretty useless fact.  
This man was Australian. Oh right. And he was a man too.

Surprisingly, despite the fact that she was shaking like she had hypothermia, the man didn't open her throat as he promised he would. Only held his blade there.

"Were you followed? Where did you get that uniform?"

"What?" Matilda asked as her fear once again grabbed her and refused to let go. She felt a head close against her ear.

"You have ten seconds to tell me something I believe before I cut out your voice box."

"Yao...Yao...Yao Fei..." Matilda stammered as she silently prayed. "Please... he sent me here... he told me that I would survive here..."

"What?" The man asked as he released her rather roughly. The sword blade was still pressed a single inch away from her head as she continued to hear her heart thump. She looked at the man who had an air of power to him. Perhaps it was the way he spoke, or the way he held his blade or perhaps it was just the vest he wore and all his gear that really didn't need any explanation on what it was for.

"Yao Fei... he gave me directions to your... hideout." Matilda almost whimpered out as she stared at the blade. It was shiny, it was sharp, and worse yet, she was being threatened by it.

The man's eyes narrowed for a moment as Matilda took a small breath.

* * *

"Shengcun." The man said as he looked at her map.

"It's Mandarin. It means..."

"Survive." The two of them said at the same time.

"What else is to it besides from... surviving?" Matilda asked as she looked at the man. In her mind, she hoped that it meant she'd be safe here.

"There's an airfield two clicks from here. It's key off this island. Yao Fei and I had been observing it for months. Familiarizing ourselves with their operations. We were suppossed to get off this island together. Then Yao Fei was compromised and we were separated."

With that, the man walked over to a box and pulled out a short sword, tossing it to Matilda.

"What's this for?" Matilda asked as she barely caught the blade.

"I think Yao Fei sent you because he knows I cannot take the airstrip alone."

"He's a good man. He saved my life twice."

"He is also a softer judger of character than I am. Though I can almost see what type of character you are through your eyes."

Matilda wasn't quite sure whether or not the last part was a good thing or bad thing. She only continued to listen.

"If you're going to have my back. I need to know you can cover it." The man said. Without warning, he swung the blade perhaps a bit slowly.

She barely managed to block him. Only watched where the two blades locked, until in one fluid motion, her opponent managed to bring the blade to her neck.

"What are you doing princess? Fight back."

She tried. She really did. The two blows were perhaps elegant in their own right and calculated. That would hardly matter though as he anticipated both of them as if she had told him what she was going to do.

"What are you doing?" The man asked as Matilda's back turned to him as she nursed her hand. "Keep your blade up. Always stay behind your sword."

She tried rushing him. It failed miserably as Matilda found herself on top of a bunch of crates.

"You have no skill." The man said as Matilda got up. "No strength. No training. To say you fight like a girl would be a compliment. Oh wait."

"I am not a soldier. I haven't even been in a fight, once in my life." Matilda said as she looked up into his eyes. "I... my plane crashed here and I found myself here. I was given this uniform..."

"Where was Yao Fei?"

"They... they got him. They coerced him into working for them... but... he still told me to run." Matilda said as she looked into his eyes.

For a brief moment, the man's face began twisted into a mixture of sorrow and rage. In the next moment, Matilda was unconscious. Again.

* * *

Matilda came to, to find herself bound securely to a chair. In front of her, the man took a single gulp of water and turned back to face her.

"Sorry. It's nothing personal. The airstrip was a very heavily fortified position. I've been there." The man said as he approached her.

These ropes... that book she read on the plane...

"And I cannot take it alone." The man said as he drew one of his blades. "And I cannot take it on my own."

"What are you going to do?" Matilda asked. She was surprised to find out she wasn't scared. No. Not this time. She can't be scared now. She had an idea.

"Like I said... it's nothing personal." The man said as he placed the blade on her shoulder causing Matilda to instinctively move her head away from the blade. While that, she continued with the bounds... she need more time.

"If you are alive. They will find you, they will torture you until you give up my location and I cannot allow for that to happen. I cannot also babysit you and expect you not to be a detriment."

"No. Please. I won't say anything. I promise." Matilda said surprisingly calmly.

"Sorry princess. But you seem to be the fragile type to me. Don't make it more difficult upon yourself... or upon me. I can do this in a way you will not feel a thought."

"No. Please." Matilda said as she did her best to dilate her eyes. To her own surprise, tears even sprang from them.

Just... a...bit...more...

"Don't cry kiddo. I promise you. It will be quick, it will be painless and it will be...

DONE.

Without warning to the man, she practically jumped out of the chair landing on top of him. Grabbing his sword, she grabbed it and went in for the kill only to be have the entire situation reversed in a heartbeat as Matilda found her back on the ground and his foot on her chest. She looked up once again only this time...

He was laughing. He really did find this amusing. Moving himself, he helped her up as his hand grappled around her's.

"Slade Wilson."

"Matilda Darlington."

"Well Matilda Darlington, there might be a fighter underneath this damsel in distress after all."


	6. Chapter 6

"You have quite the appetite. That was about an entire day's worth of food in one sitting." Slade said as he watched Matilda eat by the fire.

"I haven't eaten in two days." Matilda said as she wiped her fingers. "How long have you been like this?"

"Like what?"

"Alone? On this island full of hostile people who only want to hurt you?"

"Too long. Regardless, understand this does not change anything between you and I. It takes two men... or in this case, a man and a girl to take the airfield. If you compromise me getting off this island, I will kill you. You've had your second chance."

"If it really is a partnership that takes the airfield, something tells me you're not really going to kill me." Matilda said as she got up to sit down next to Slade. "Besides, isn't it nice to have company for a change? At least, company that isn't interested in slitting your throat?"

Slade chuckled at this as he ruffled Matilda's hair. She turned to face him as she was ready to ask.

"What's our plan for getting that airfield?"

"Turning you into something that won't get us both killed. Choose a weapon."

"Can't seem to catch a break on this god-forsaken island." Matilda said as she got up to the crates which contained Slade's armory. As she opened the first crate she saw two things. Only one of them mattered.

Her hand brushed against the side of the assault rifle, as it slowly ran down the inside of the box and grabbed a hold of an orange and black mask. She stared at the thing for a moment in horror for a moment as she continued to scrutinize the thing.

"That's mine." Slade said as he saw Matilda continue to gawk at the mask before turning back to him.

"You...you're that... you were that man with Fyers..."

"No, that was another guy."

"Rubbish."

"This mask, is my operation equivalent of a balaclava, my partner and I wore them to keep our identities classified during our missions."

"I was under the impression by Fyers that this... this... psychopath was a prisoner on this island. Probably for good reason."

"And Fyers is such a trustworthy individual? He lied to you. My partner and I came to free Yao Fei and get him off this island. We're ASIS. Australian intelligence. Now, you were going to find yourself a weapon. Have you considered a sword? I like swords." Slade said with a smile.

* * *

"Ow." Matilda gasped as she dropped both the bamboo sticks and held her injured hand. Slade only shook as head as he circled around her.

"How did you manage to survive here for six months?" Slade asked in disbelief. "You fight like a girl. Oh wait."

"Thanks." Matilda said sarcastically as she stopped nursing her injured hand and picked up the bamboo sticks.

"Listen Elizabeth, we have ten days until that supply plane lands. Ten days to turn you into something that can at least stand on it's own two feet. So start taking it seriously."

Elizabeth nodded with understanding as she swung the bamboo stick at his head, this rather clumsy attack was easily countered and she received two blows to the gut area, forcing her to bend over in pain.

"Ow... Slade... may I ask a question?'

"Sure kid."

"These soldiers... they're carrying guns. What good will knives and swords do us when they point a gun in our faces?"

"Point this in my face." Slade said as he handed Matilda his gun. Matilda was taken back by this as she hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to do.

"Do it." He said firmly.

Gingerly taking the gun, Matilda pointed it at Slade's head tentatively.

It happened quite quickly. She found the gun wrenched out of her hands and a heavy blow against her back before she was flipped on the ground the gun at her head.

"Okay. You win." Matilda breathed out as she lay flat on her back, she was promptly grabbed by the collar and lifted off the ground as she was brought face to face with Slade.

"THERE IS NO GIVING UP TO THESE GUYS. NO CRYING. NO BEGGING FOR MERCY." Slade blasted into her face as he continued to hold her by the neck.

"You have two choices." He hissed. "Escape. Or die. So choose."

"Escape." She said quickly which resulted in Slade putting her down.

"Then let me show you, how not to die." Slade said as he tossed a bamboo stick.

* * *

"Lian Yu." Slade pointing at several maps of the island.

"It's the name of the island." Matilda said. "It's mandarin for purgatory."

"It is? Wonderful."

"Is that the airstrip?" Matilda asked as she gestured at one of the maps.

"The ASIS took images of the whole island." Slade said as he moved around. "This was Fyer's main camp where I was held for almost a year."

"Do you think that's where Yao Fei is? We could perhaps contact him and tell him that..."

"Forget about him." Slade said as he grabbed the other maps. "This is the airstrip. And these infrared images show there are at least ten soldiers guarding the perimeter at any given time."

"You seem to be worth ten men in any fight."

"Oh I am. My problem is the guy here in the tower. It's PATC." Slade said as he pointed at the photo of the portable air traffic control tower. "A portable air traffic control tower, the U.S government set up these for disaster zones like thailand after the tsunami."

"What's the problem?"

"The glass if bulletproof. I can't take out the tower guy with my sniper rifle. If he suspects anything is wrong, he'll radio Fyers and we're canceled. It'll be up to you to take him out. Up close and personal. Are you ready for that?"

"Do you think I am ready for that?"

"What I think is that there is a supply plane every 3 months. We leave tomorrow, or we die soon afterwards. I pick leaving."

"So do I." Matilda said as she nodded her head in understanding.

"So get some sleep. We leave tomorrow at 0600."

Matilda nodded for the final time as she got up. There was another bedroll just for her where she would sleep. For a while, she lay down, with her eyes watching the ceiling. She said nothing and thought nothing.

"Don't worry kid. You'll be back home in no time."

And that, was enough for her to go to sleep for the night.

* * *

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." Slade said as he nudged Matilda awake, much to Matilda's discomfort. She rose slowly but hardly got a chance to even as much as fully awake before two bulging bags were flung at her. To Slade's annoyance, it turned out Matilda had a pretty hard time carrying both bags and could hardly even stand up while having both of them on her back. To that end, he carried one of them as she struggled with just one.

As they moved through the forest, it was perhaps another time where Matilda would actually appreciate the place. The tranquility of the morning air and the small noises of early birds was actually a pleasant experience, one that'd eclipse the fact that this whole island was full of people who wanted to kill them. Well. At least it'd eclipse that for now.

It was a shame really, Lian Yu had quite the wonders to it despite the fact it was named purgatory. They had to move at a quicker pace which disallowed any chance to actually enjoy the good things about the island. The pair would stop at a wide opening which Slade took a chance to scan the area.

"All clear." Slade said as he continued to move.

"Can...can...can we rest for a moment?" Matilda asked as she breathed heavily. The bag felt like it weighed more than her.

"We can rest on the plane." Slade said as he continued to look around.

"Really looking forward to it. Hope it doesn't crash like the last one." Matilda joked for the first time on the island. She took a single step to continue on their long journey.

Click*

"Don't move!"

"Good lord..." Matilda said as she felt something underneath her foot. "Is it a mine?!"

"Calm down kid." Slade said as he threw himself on the ground and began to dig up earth around the device. Sure enough, there was a mine right there.

"They mined the island?"

"No. It's probably Japanese. Left over from world war two. Still active. Impressive."

"Can you disarm it?"

"Not without blowing you to a better place." Slade said as he stood up. Voices.

"Soldiers." Slade said as he saw the figures approaching. His mind began to work as he quickly tried to think of something.

"They're going to see us." Matilda whispered in panic as she did her best not to move.

"They're going to see you." Slade said as he grabbed the bag she was carrying.

"Wait... where..."

He was out of sight before she could as much as say another look. All she could do was hold her foot on the mine and hope she wouldn't be shot on sight. The footsteps grew ever louder as she braced herself.

"Well. Look what we got here..." One of the soldiers said as they spotted Matilda whose blood had turned to ice at the sound of a shotgun being pointed at her.

"Come with us."

"I'd rather not." Matilda said as she pointed at the mine. Her heart rate soared as she tried to see where Slade was.

"Not your lucky day huh? Well. We'll get you out. For a price."

"Whatever that price is, I feel like it may not be worth pay..." She stopped speaking the moment the hand went on her shoulder.

"Shhhh... it won't be too bad."

"On second thought, maybe blowing myself up won't be so ba..."

The roar surprised both her and the soldiers around her. She only recalled ducking her head so she wouldn't be decapitated or shot but as she got back up, she saw only dead soldiers and Slade right besides her once again. Thank god.

"Be still." He hissed as his hands wrapped around a dead soldier. With a mighty shove, he sent the corpse on the mine and Matilda off of it.

In the few moments that passed, the air became so tense that breathing seemed like an impossibility. However, since they were still alive and the mine hadn't detonated, it seemed like everything would be alright. For the time being at least.

"Thank you." Matilda said said as she got up slowly and took a final gaze at the corpses.

* * *

"Obviously, you've never been out of a city have you?"

"The average hike in the woods once a while is good enough for me." Matilda said as she continued to try rubbing the sticks together.

"We'd better hurry. The wolves come out at night."

"This place has those blighters too now?" Matilda asked with disbelief as she stopped rubbing the sticks for a moment.

"If there's anything that'll keep them out, is fire."

"Well, I think I am making a nasty blunder of this... so you are welcome to help."

Slade said nothing, only reached into his pocket and took out a silver lighter. In two seconds flat, he had a roaring fire going.

"You can't be serious. I've been making a mess of things for two hours and now you choose to help?"

"I know. I've been watching. Thank you for the entertainment."

* * *

"Hey Slade. I hope you don't mind." Matilda said as she rested her head against Slade's shoulder.

"Really kid? Am I pillow to you?"

"You may be rough around the edges, but you still make a good pillow." Matilda chuckled as she put her hands out for the fire. "Maybe rough around the edges is the wrong... description. More like so rough, I'd cut myself if I wasn't careful being with you."

"I never took the uptight damsel in distress to have a sense of humor."

"Will you please stop calling me that?"

"What? It's only the second time."

"I know... just please. Can you not call me that?"

"Okay. Fine then. Darling."

"Better than "damsel in distress"." Matilda said as she continued to rest against Slade's shoulder. "It's... it's just that..."

"Just what kid?"

"The only reason I am still alive, was through the kindness of others." Matilda continued as she continued to look at the fire. "Warren and Giles are both dead but they made sure I survived. I was the only one on the raft when I came here. Yao Fei saved my life not once, but twice and now, he's gone too. Now you."

"Want to know something kid? Everybody is in this life for themselves."

"And who taught you that?"

"Remember how I told you I had a partner?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember the guy with Fyers? Had a mask like mine?"

"That psychopath?"

"His name is Billy Wintergreen."

"Okay..."

"Our mission was to exfiltrate Yao Fei and found out why Fyers and his men were so interested in him but our bird was shot out of the sky before we even reached the airstrip. When Fyers took us prisoner, he asked if we would join him and his men, Billy accepted Fyers invitation and I declined. He was the godfather to my son Joe, and yet he turned his back on me without even thinking twice. Everybody is in this life for themselves."

"You told me you escaped with Yao Fei." Matilda said as she tossed a stick into the fire.

"And you know what? We were working together for ourselves."

"Slade. I once read an awfully good story. There was a quote that a man said. He said that "Friendship was everything. It is more important than talent, it is more important than government, and it is almost the equal of family."

"Billy was both my friend and my family. In one instant, he chose that I was nothing."

They sat besides the fire for a while, saying nothing. Matilda only held her locket as she continued to rest by Slade.

* * *

The night was silent and so were they. Matilda crouched by her hiding spot with her gun at the ready, while Slade went to his sniping position.

His first bullet dropped the guard in Matilda's way, giving her enough to time to silently sprint across the area as she hid behind a pile of barrels. Slade's consecutive shots dropped two more, allowing Matilda to make her move.

Right into the face of a guard. Who said nothing and did nothing because before he could, there was a bullet in his chest.

Firing two more shots, Slade gave a small grunt of grim satisfaction as the two bodies dropped. Seeing his sniper rifle was out of ammo, he pulled out his sword and watched as Matilda disappeared into the top of the tower.

Silently and slowly, Matilda opened the door. Like a cat, she crept in and held her gun at the ready. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

* * *

You had one job to do. And you managed to screw up even that."

"Sorry!" Matilda exclaimed as Slade facepalmed at the bullet hole in the glass.

"How do you miss at this distance?!" Slade asked rhetorically as he looked at Matilda. "This distance?!"

"My hands were shaking." Matilda said as she took a glance at the dead soldier with a sword in his chest. Had it not been for Slade, she may have been the one who got the gun to the head.

"I am going to make sure everything is clear. Stay here, keep the door locked and do not let anyone in except for me."

Matilda nodded as she moved to give Slade his gun back who waved her off.

"Try not to shoot yourself by mistake." Slade said as he walked out of the tower leaving Matilda alone by herself. She spied the operating phone within.

44.20.1772.88

* * *

"Have you lost your mind? They might be monitoring the calls!" Slade spat out angrily as he tore the phone from it's resting place on the table.

While he may have gone off on a tangent to continue berating Matilda, he never quite got the chance as the radio message came through.

"Highland tower, this is skyhawk 801 foxtrot, we are seven hundred kilometers southeast of your position. ETA 3 hours and 22 minutes. Over."

Quickly, Slade grabbed the microphone as he gave his answer.

"Highland tower, skyhawk 801 foxtrot. Acknowledged."

When he was given no answer, Slade repeated himself, sweat beads forming upon his head as he ground out every syllable with anxiety.

He got a reply. Perhaps not the one he was looking for at the time.

"Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth..."

"What is that?"

"It's a challenge code that's trying to verify our identity." Slade said nervously as the tension began to build up. Tentatively, he spoke into the radio again.

"Skyhawk 801 foxtrot, please repeat."

"Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth..."

"Wait a blooming second... I know this!" Matilda said with a wide smile. "I did it for theatre at school!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's a quote from the odyssey! Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth..." Matilda said as she stopped to think for a moment. "Nothing is bred that is weaker than man!"

"Are you sure about this?! Because if you are wrong this plane will turn around!"

"I am certain! Nothing is bred that is weaker than man. Say it!"

"Nothing is bred that is weaker than man."

"Roger that. See you in a few hours."

"The odyssey." Slade said as he finally thought of the origins of the quote.

"Yeah. I read the thing at least eight times. Played Athena when we did our parts at school. The story is about some unlucky chap trying to get home to his family. How fitting for our circumstances."

"Well have after a few days at links, we'll be at peace. You'll be on your way home."

"Are you not coming with me? I think it'd be nice if..."

"I will be coming with you. After I radio in an airstrike on this location. I am going to send Fyers and all his men straight back to hell."

"Wait." Matilda said as something rushed straight back into her mind, causing Slade to pause for a moment.

"You can't blow up the island! Yao Fei is still here!"

"Yao Fei is not my concern."

"Really? He is your friend. You told me you came here because of him. That was your mission was it not?"

"Well the mission has changed. Edward Fyers is a mercenary, he is not on this island for mistake, he has plans for Lian Yu and they involve Yao Fei. Whatever they are, they must end."

"Yao Fei saved my life." Matilda said at Slade's words.

"That is your debt to repay. Not mine." Slade said as he looked into Matilda's eyes. She nodded slowly for a moment before moving past him.

"Where are you going?"

"I am going to repay that debt." Matilda said as Slade grabbed hold of her arm. "All this time on this godforsaken rock, I've only been alive through the kindness of others. Warren. Giles. Yao Fei. You. I cannot leave Yao Fei here to die."

"The plane leaves in three hours. If you and your friend are not on it, I am going to leave without you."

"I would actually hope you would." Matilda said as she walked back to Slade. "Slade... if I don't make it back. I want you to go to this address."

She found a pen and a strip of paper which she wrote down: London Glorianna Road 18.

"And take this." She said as she removed the locket. It was a finely crafted gold chain which held a small cross.

"I really never was a good christian. Never been in church in my whole life, just pray occasionally." Matilda chuckled to herself. "But my grandmother had it, and then my mother, and now me. It's suppossed to be for good luck and you know what? It works. Something tells me it wasn't my own resourcefulness that allowed me to get to this island in one piece and live on this island in one piece. Please. Take this home for me, my family will be there at that address. Tell them... tell them... tell them I died meeting a few new friends. That I died happy. That I wanted it to end this way. And please... leave things like a plane crash and an island full of bad people out of it."

Matilda looked at her locket for a moment before placing the thing in Slade's hand. She looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Good luck Slade If this is goodbye, at least you will get off this island. I know I was trouble for you the moment we met. I knew I'd be trouble and here we are, everything almost went south with... well... you know." Matilda said as she waved at the bullet in the glass.

"Listen kid. I may be the one who would be able to survive, but you are the one who deserves to live and..."

"I don't deserve to live any more than those who helped me live." Matilda said. "Life is earned, never given. And I am going to earn every last bit of it. You earned yours. Let me earn mine."

With that, she bolted out the door. Leaving Slade to watch as she rapidly disappeared into the horizon.


	7. Chapter 7

It was almost light out when she had arrived at Fyers' main camp. Like a mouse in a den of cats, she slipped from hiding place to hiding place, being spotted now would be fatal.

The amount of soldiers frustrated Matilda to no end as she hid behind a truck. This was made more evident when a group of men had parked right in front of her hiding place, before dispersing off to their duties.

She held her breath for a moment to see where they'd go which to her luck weren't going anywhere near her. She continued to peek around the corner, until she saw him. Yao Fei, turning around by the tent and going inside.

Now was her chance.

* * *

Yao Fei couldn't have been more surprised when Matilda entered the tent. Perhaps that was the first time he had been surprised on this island. He wanted to say something... but all that came out was "How did you..."

"We can go! I snuck in here." Matilda whispered with a hint of a grin.

"You shouldn't have come back!" Yao Fei hissed much to Matilda's impatience.

"I am with Slade. We found a way off this island but we have to get going in a jiffy!"

"No."

"No? Are you serious mate? This is our big chance to get off this god-forsaken rock! What on earth could convince you to stay?"

"Not what. Who." Yao Fei said.

Matilda's eyes narrowed for a moment as she wondered WHO could convince him to stay. Fyers? Wouldn't it make sense for him to get far away from that blighter? He couldn't possibly track him down could he? Billy Wintergreen? Same deal here. What abou...

She hadn't been paying attention. But Yao Fei had when Fyers entered the tent. All she could recall was being hit in the face and falling over, her vision began to cloud and darken.

"Well Miss Darlington. I think it's past time you left this island. Permanently." Those words, and the sight of Yao Fei, Fyers and Billy Wintergreen were the last things she saw before she passed out.

* * *

"Simply to satisfy my own curiosity why aren't you already dead? I saw Yao Fei choke you to death."

"That bloke isn't as strong as he looks." Matilda shot back as a ripple of laughter shot through the crowd which surrounded them.

"Still you return for him. So you're either a fool or are you the damsel playing the hero?"

Great. Now Fyers calls her that too. Might as well as change Matilda Sophia Darlington into Matilda Damsel Darlington.

"Definitely not the hero." Matilda muttered quietly as her fingers found the spot on the ropes.

"No of course not, it's not possible to be a hero when theres nobody worth saving." Fyers said. "Maybe... yourself. But that's about it."

"You want me to fight him again?" Matilda asked as she continued to play with the ropes. She wondered if it was possible to make through this crowd. Probably not. But she had to try. Plus, even if she was to fight Yao Fei, chances are, Yao Fei wouldn't be so gentle as he was the last time.

"Oh no Miss Darlington. That's where you are mistaken. This is not a match. It's an execution."

"I am sorry." Yao Fei said in his thick accent. Something about that accent actually made him sound more apologetic than he may or may not be.

She heard the footsteps from behind her. She would assume that Billy had caught her untying herself. Quickly, she turned around to look him in the eye.

"Wintergreen. I assume that's the moniker you go by?"

She thought Slade was rough? She was wrong. Though she had took quite the number of beatings from him when they trained they were gentle. Far too gentle. The blow that struck her on the face caused her to go down like a sack of grain. Thankfully, she had just finished untying herself then. Much to the hidden surprise of everyone watching. Billy Wintergreen included.

The pain still stung when she managed to stand up again. She thanked her lucky stars that she wasn't disfigured with that one blow. Still more to say.

"You used to fight for something meaningful. For Queen and country."

She thought that first punch was painful? She couldn't even stand up after the next ones. In fact, she could hardly even kneel as she felt like her ribs were in pieces. She coughed and sputtered for a moment, a small rope of blood slithered it's way out of her mouth.

Her head was tilted upwards by Billy's hand as he drew his sword. Identical to Slade's. She stared into his cold hard eyes as she braced herself for the killing blow that never came.

The massive explosion around camp and the sniper bullets which struck a few unfortunate soldiers caused everyone to mill about in panic and shoot blindly into the thick of things. Quite a few soldiers met their deaths by the explosions as they ran around camp, trying to find the shooter or shooters. Fyers had ran and hid. Billy didn't move a muscle.

Almost as if he had been expecting it, Billy kept staring ahead. Staring ahead at the place where Slade then stood upon.

"Slade. Come back to die?"

The only reply he got was the cold steel of the blade. The two began their duel metal upon metal, expert swordsmen both in their own rights.

"Was it so easy to betray me Billy?" Slade asked as his blow sent Billy staggering back for a moment. It may not have occurred to her then, it may have not occurred to her instantly, but Billy, for all the fear he caused, for all his skill, for all his brutality was no match for Slade.

This was proven the instant Billy had managed to kick Slade down. As he went to punch him again, his blow was blocked and Slade grasped upon his fist with an iron grip.

The flurry of blows was something not even Wintergreen seemed to be able to take. Before long, he staggered, unable to continue taking hits like this. That was all Slade wanted.

As he grabbed Billy's head and held it against his blade, he had but one thing left to say.

"Well, Billy. You always had a good kick."

There was the wet sound of metal piercing flesh. And then the dull thud of Billy's corpse hitting the dusty ground.

Slade turned around for a solitary moment to give her a small smile. Of course, that smile turned into... something else the moment he got shot.

She was still an awful shot then and probably would remain that way for a long time, but it didn't matter as Matilda picked up the gun and began to fire random shots in Fyers' general direction. Sure, nothing hit. and as a matter of fact, Slade would still probably so that the safest spot Fyers to be would still be in front of where Matilda was firing but what mattered was that Fyers was forced to retreat behind some trucks and crates while Matilda helped Slade out. His shoulder hurt like hell.

They continued on the dirt path for hardly a moment before a lone soldier had come to stop them. Slade had begun to reach for his gun but soon found that unnecessary. Words failed to describe his surprise when he saw Matilda grab the gun he was menacing them with and flip over the soldier, wrenching the firearm from his grasp and leaving him flat on his back.

All he really could do was give a small smile. Watching as the Soldier looked up to the pistol pointed at his head.

"Go."

He was out of sight in no time. But you know what soon came in sight?

The plane.

"And there goes our ride."

* * *

"I am impressed. You didn't puke."

"Nothing to throw up." Matilda said as she put the bloody knife down.

"You can untie me now." Slade sputtered in pain. Matilda quickly went to untying his hands as he continued to endure the flaming pain.

"Why did you want me to tie you up anyways?"

"A man in pain is unreliable. I was afraid I might break you in half. Thanks."

For some reason, Matilda could only chuckle slightly as she sat down next to him. Something just came into her mind.

"What?"

"I am trapped on an island, and my only friend is named Wilson."

He didn't get the joke. But frankly, there were more pressing matters at hand than whether or not Matilda was a good comedian. One of them being Fyers.

"What do we now?"

"We hope my fireworks show set Fyers back. Maybe enough for those who hired him in the first place to call things off."

"Hired him?"

"Fyers is a merc. He follows the money so he's on this island under someone's employee."

"What do we do?"

"We have to make sure neither of us dies on this god-forsaken island."

"I thought you said we weren't going to live to see another day if we didn't get on that plane."

"Well that poor, defenseless schoolgirl I trained, she would never have made it. You?" Slade put out his hand. "You might just have a chance. With a bit of luck."

It was her locket.


	8. Chapter 8

Slade gasped in agony as Matilda quickly ran over to where he lay, his breaths became quick and labored as he gasped for air.

"Hey... it's water. Drink." Matilda said as she held the cup to Slade's mouth who spat it out in a second.

"You must stay hydrated okay? I am not a doctor, but if you're sick, I know you must have water."

"Dehydration is not my problem, my problem is getting a bullet dug out of my arm with a dull blade."

"Let me take a glance at the thing." Matilda said as she lifted the cloth that they had wrapped around Slade's wound. There was a disgusting brownish red upon the cloth that sent alarm bells of panic through Matilda's mind.

"It's infected." Slade said almost silently. They both stared at one another for a moment contemplating on what would happen.

"We got to do something about that.."I...uh... oh wait!" Matilda grinned to herself as she went over to one of the boxes. "I know I kept it here somewhere... here!"

"What is it?"

"Yao Fei had some herbs he gave me... and it's here! Now I don't know what they are... but I have a feeling..."

She took a small whiff of the pouch. It was about the size of her thumb. Hopefully, this amount would at least help Slade somewhat.

"Well... I know they did this back in the day but here goes nothing."

A moment later, she began to brew some herbal tea.

* * *

The good news? Slade was doing better. The bad news? Slade wasn't doing that much better.

He needed more. Despite the fact that he kept saying that the pain had subsided, it was painfully obvious that he couldn't so much as stand up as he was in complete pain. Well. Something a bit less than complete pain, but still. In enough hurt that he couldn't stand up.

"I am going to get you some more. Okay?" Matilda said as she grabbed a knife and a gun.

"While you swing past the drugstore for those antibiotics, you want to get me a copy of Maxim? Or maybe a sports illustrated?" Slade joked meekly as he forced a weak smile. "Or maybe you can also get some grocery's? I am the mood for some pastries and tea."

"Yao Fei has more in his cave. I know because I was there. We only had like a little bit but that little bit made you better. See what I can do with a handful." Matilda said as she got ready.

"You're not going to last an hour out there."

"Then I'll make sure I get back in less than that."

* * *

Like a kitten navigating its way back down a familiar alley, she slipped into the cave and began her search. Almost conveniently, she found the herbs in three seconds in a small pouch on a stone slab. She gave a small smile to herself.

The cough made her almost jump out of her skin as she drew her gun.

"Who's there?" She asked as she pointed said gun at the direction of where the cough came from. There was the pitiful remains of a man, beaten and injured.

"Who are you?" Matilda asked as she kept the gun on his head, making sure he wouldn't try anything.

"My name is Alan Durand, I am an exchange student, I was on a fishing excursion with my class. We got lost and our boat caught on fire. Some mechanical malfunction and we had to jump ship."

"When?"

"Two days ago, it's all. I thought I was going to die."

"Where are the other students? Where's the crew?"

"I think I am the only one who made it. I managed to get to shore. I thought I was lucky."

"Somebody found you? Soldiers?"

"Yes...yes..." Alan sobbed as his emotions were let loose. "They had these masks on, they attacked me and beat me and they left me here! Who are they?!"

He continued to weep pitifully for a while as Matilda watched him. He stared back up into her eyes. Those shining diamonds of eyes.

"Please... untie me..."

She stood there. Watching him.

"I know these men are coming back! You have to believe me! Untie me please!"

She stood there and said nothing. Something just didn't add up.

"I am sorry. But I can't."

"Wha...what?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"I don't know you. And you make quite a convincing actor. Alan, for all I know, you may be a spy for Fyers. And it that is case, it may be selfish for me to say and to think so, but it will inevitably end badly. I am sorry but I can't untie you."

"Ple..."

"Don't. I will plant a bullet in your cranium if you as much as dare make a move. I don't care who you are, I just know that I cannot trust you as much as I would love to. Good bye."

Was she really able to sound tough? Like she could kill a man without a second thought? Like she could just really shoot him and that would be the end of it?

For the first time, acting had probably benefitted her. Acting that this Alan Durand put up and how almost convincing it was, and her own acting. Her acting as if she could truly kill a man. But now, her acting had paid off. Alan was against the wall and he wasn't moving even if he really wasn't actually tied up. He was scared, at least for now. Perhaps of the soldiers in his story or perhaps of Matilda and the gun at his head.

* * *

"Tastes like an ashtray. But does the job." Slade said. In literal moments after getting the rest of the herbal tea, he could already sit up. The pain had been dissipating slowly the first time, but now, it was gone in an instant.

"I owe you one."

"No. More like I owe you two after the mine, and the guy at the tower and then again with Billy Wintergreen." Matilda chuckled as she stared at the wall.

"You didn't get into any trouble out there did you?" Slade asked as his voice became solemn.

"No. Not a bit."

Acting may have been her strong side. But lying wasn't. Thankfully, that was true.

* * *

"Why the sudden desire to work out?" Matilda asked as Slade did his pull ups. He wasn't wearing a shirt and... those were some rather nice abs he had.

"What else is there to do?"

"We can try and think of another escape plan."

"There isn't another way off the island if that's what you're getting at. If there was, I would have found it by now."

"Well, we can't exactly just wait here for Fyers to find us."

"I did have one idea. If you go into the forest and grab as much bamboo as you can find, we can build ourselves a boat like they did on Gilligan's island."

She wasn't sure whether or not he was serious or sarcastic. But something else caught her attention.

A radio.

"Does that thing work?"

"It's broken. It got busted in the crash."

"Did you try to fix it?"

"I am better at pulling things apart."

"Darn. It seems... mind if I poke around with this bally old machine?" Matilda asked as she took a small peek.

"You should be training for the inevitable fight that's looming."

"Can we practice with the swords then?"

"Why?"

"Cause I know you won't beat me upside the head with those."

"I would never hurt a young lady."

"And I bet you would lie though." Matilda smiled sweetly. "Maybe you should put a shirt on..."


	9. Chapter 9

Slade gasped in agony as Matilda quickly ran over to where he lay, his breaths became quick and labored as he gasped for air.

"Hey... it's water. Drink." Matilda said as she held the cup to Slade's mouth who spat it out in a second.

"You must stay hydrated okay? I am not a doctor, but if you're sick, I know you must have water."

"Dehydration is not my problem, my problem is getting a bullet dug out of my arm with a dull blade."

"Let me take a glance at the thing." Matilda said as she lifted the cloth that they had wrapped around Slade's wound. There was a disgusting brownish red upon the cloth that sent alarm bells of panic through Matilda's mind.

"It's infected." Slade said almost silently. They both stared at one another for a moment contemplating on what would happen.

"We got to do something about that.."I...uh... oh wait!" Matilda grinned to herself as she went over to one of the boxes. "I know I kept it here somewhere... here!"

"What is it?"

"Yao Fei had some herbs he gave me... and it's here! Now I don't know what they are... but I have a feeling..."

She took a small whiff of the pouch. It was about the size of her thumb. Hopefully, this amount would at least help Slade somewhat.

"Well... I know they did this back in the day but here goes nothing."

A moment later, she began to brew some herbal tea.

* * *

The good news? Slade was doing better. The bad news? Slade wasn't doing that much better.

He needed more. Despite the fact that he kept saying that the pain had subsided, it was painfully obvious that he couldn't so much as stand up as he was in complete pain. Well. Something a bit less than complete pain, but still. In enough hurt that he couldn't stand up.

"I am going to get you some more. Okay?" Matilda said as she grabbed a knife and a gun.

"While you swing past the drugstore for those antibiotics, you want to get me a copy of Maxim? Or maybe a sports illustrated?" Slade joked meekly as he forced a weak smile. "Or maybe you can also get some grocery's? I am the mood for some pastries and tea."

"Yao Fei has more in his cave. I know because I was there. We only had like a little bit but that little bit made you better. See what I can do with a handful." Matilda said as she got ready.

"You're not going to last an hour out there."

"Then I'll make sure I get back in less than that."

* * *

Like a kitten navigating its way back down a familiar alley, she slipped into the cave and began her search. Almost conveniently, she found the herbs in three seconds in a small pouch on a stone slab. She gave a small smile to herself.

The cough made her almost jump out of her skin as she drew her gun.

"Who's there?" She asked as she pointed said gun at the direction of where the cough came from. There was the pitiful remains of a man, beaten and injured.

"Who are you?" Matilda asked as she kept the gun on his head, making sure he wouldn't try anything.

"My name is Alan Durand, I am an exchange student, I was on a fishing excursion with my class. We got lost and our boat caught on fire. Some mechanical malfunction and we had to jump ship."

"When?"

"Two days ago, it's all. I thought I was going to die."

"Where are the other students? Where's the crew?"

"I think I am the only one who made it. I managed to get to shore. I thought I was lucky."

"Somebody found you? Soldiers?"

"Yes...yes..." Alan sobbed as his emotions were let loose. "They had these masks on, they attacked me and beat me and they left me here! Who are they?!"

He continued to weep pitifully for a while as Matilda watched him. He stared back up into her eyes. Those shining diamonds of eyes.

"Please... untie me..."

She stood there. Watching him.

"I know these men are coming back! You have to believe me! Untie me please!"

She stood there and said nothing. Something just didn't add up.

"I am sorry. But I can't."

"Wha...what?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"I don't know you. And you make quite a convincing actor. Alan, for all I know, you may be a spy for Fyers. And it that is case, it may be selfish for me to say and to think so, but it will inevitably end badly. I am sorry but I can't untie you."

"Ple..."

"Don't. I will plant a bullet in your cranium if you as much as dare make a move. I don't care who you are, I just know that I cannot trust you as much as I would love to. Good bye."

Was she really able to sound tough? Like she could kill a man without a second thought? Like she could just really shoot him and that would be the end of it?

For the first time, acting had probably benefitted her. Acting that this Alan Durand put up and how almost convincing it was, and her own acting. Her acting as if she could truly kill a man. But now, her acting had paid off. Alan was against the wall and he wasn't moving even if he really wasn't actually tied up. He was scared, at least for now. Perhaps of the soldiers in his story or perhaps of Matilda and the gun at his head.

* * *

"Tastes like an ashtray. But does the job." Slade said. In literal moments after getting the rest of the herbal tea, he could already sit up. The pain had been dissipating slowly the first time, but now, it was gone in an instant.

"I owe you one."

"No. More like I owe you two after the mine, and the guy at the tower and then again with Billy Wintergreen." Matilda chuckled as she stared at the wall.

"You didn't get into any trouble out there did you?" Slade asked as his voice became solemn.

"No. Not a bit."

Acting may have been her strong side. But lying wasn't. Thankfully, that was true.

* * *

"Why the sudden desire to work out?" Matilda asked as Slade did his pull ups. He wasn't wearing a shirt and... those were some rather nice abs he had.

"What else is there to do?"

"We can try and think of another escape plan."

"There isn't another way off the island if that's what you're getting at. If there was, I would have found it by now."

"Well, we can't exactly just wait here for Fyers to find us."

"I did have one idea. If you go into the forest and grab as much bamboo as you can find, we can build ourselves a boat like they did on Gilligan's island."

She wasn't sure whether or not he was serious or sarcastic. But something else caught her attention.

A radio.

"Does that thing work?"

"It's broken. It got busted in the crash."

"Did you try to fix it?"

"I am better at pulling things apart."

"Darn. It seems... mind if I poke around with this bally old machine?" Matilda asked as she took a small peek.

"You should be training for the inevitable fight that's looming."

"Can we practice with the swords then?"

"Why?"

"Cause I know you won't beat me upside the head with those."

"I would never hurt a young lady."

"And I bet you would lie though." Matilda smiled sweetly. "Maybe you should put a shirt on..."


	10. Chapter 10

"Gentlemen. And lady." Fyers said as he appeared at the rendezvous time with an entourage of his men. All of them armed to the teeth. "So happy we were able to reach an accord."

"Ah good. Small talk." Slade said as he looked back at Fyers. "We gonna get on with this?"

"As you wish. Straight to business. The circuit board, where is it?"

"Somewhere safe and sound. Get us to the boat and I promise you, you'll have it back." Matilda said as she smiled sweetly.

"And of course, you'll be honest about it's location?" Fyers asked. His hand gripped his gun tightly.

"Well I wouldn't be." Slade said as he stepped forward. "But this one actually values honesty and principals."

"I always imagined as much. That's why I'd like to make a counter-proposal. Men!"

The sound of boots and a gun cocking filled the air, which caused Yao Fei's eyes to bug out as his heart filled with dread. Behind Fyers, two soldiers dragged along a young woman. Chinese by the looks of it.

She was thrown down on the ground. As Yao Fei tried to protest, he was stunned by the blow on to the back of his head and handcuffed.

"You will deliver to me back the circuit board or I will kill Yao Fei's daughter." Fyers threatened as he held out his gun. His eyes were cold as ice as they focused on Matilda.

And it dawned on Matilda that instant.

"That's why you wouldn't leave." She said silently to herself as she stared at the ground. She hoped Slade had an idea.

"I can't imagine you'd want the death of an innocent young woman on your hands. Not with your principals." Fyers said, grinding on the word as if it was a nasty swear.

Matilda looked at the young woman, then to Slade, then to Fyers. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her mind raced, all she could think about was...

click*

"Let the girl go." Slade said with a fierce smile as he held his gun straight at Fyers' head. Oblivious to the fact that all the soldiers had raised their weapons and were pointed right at him.

A few tense moments passed. Much for Yao Fei, and much on Matilda. All that mattered to Slade was opening a hole in Fyers' head.

"No deal?" Fyers asked as he waited for an answer. He was given none. "Very well. Kill her!"

Everything became like in the movies. In slow motion.

The sound of Yao Fei's outcry was muffled by the sight of the girl taking out both of her would-be executioners in five seconds flat. All the while, Slade had planted a few bullets in a nearby soldier, while Yao Fei proceeded to strangle one of Fyers' men with his legs.

Slade and Yao Fei really didn't matter. The young woman had taken out several guards with nothing but her bare hands, and was now pounding Fyers senseless much to Slade's amusement and Matilda's bewilderment. Talk about surprising.

"Well that was unexpected." Slade said with a smile as the young girl walked past them. Matilda let out a small smile, which quickly faded at the sight of what seemed like a bazillion soldiers coming out of the tree line.

"Look out!" Matilda called out as bullets flew the forest. All she could remember was running like hell at that point with Yao Fei's daughter and Yao Fei. Slade hung not too far back, firing his gun at the men that were pursuing.

As Matilda turned around, she saw Yao Fei trip and lay there for a moment. Almost wanting to yell at him to hurry up, she grabbed him and began to attempt to lift him. She then realized he had been shot.

"Oh dear... come on!" Matilda said as she tried to help him up to no avail. Maybe she didn't realize it yet, but one doesn't exactly walk normally with a bullet in them.

"Go to safety! Now!" Yao Fei ordered in his heavy accent. "I will only slow you down!"

It didn't matter how much they protested. They had to go. Yao Fei refused to leave with them and that was that. They had to leave or risk getting shot full of holes. The last thing that was to anyone's memory was running like hell from the flying bullets that flew by like angry wasps.

* * *

It was already dark by the time they had reached the place where they stashed the hideout. Maybe it wouldn't have been too bad with the light drizzle that made the jungle cold AND dark. But, the dark day had just became figurative as well as literal when Matilda looked back at the place where they hid the circuit board.

"Slade... The circuit board... it's gone." Matilda said as she looked back at Slade whose expression looked as though his face would drop off.

Even though he knew it was gone, he just had to go see. In the end. It didn't matter. It was gone. Fyers had found it.

"Damn... Fyers played us." Slade mumbled as he took one last look. "While he was screwing us around, his men were combing the woods for it."

His hand gripped around Matilda's neck as Slade breathed in every word through her ear.

"Now his missile launcher is fully operational."

"He never was going to let us off this island." Matilda muttered almost inaudibly as she stared at the ground.

"Of course he wasn't going to help you. He couldn't chance you warning the mainland what he has planned." Yao Fei's daughter said.

They were both rather surprised she spoke english since they had only heard her speak chinese to her father. But that detail didn't matter. What did was...

"Neither of us have a clue on what his plans are." Matilda said as she stood by Slade in the rain.

"I do."

Matilda and Slade looked at each other.

* * *

The grunting noises and the sounds of blows making home had been going on for at least ten minutes. Here they were, Slade and Shado were training with one another with their fists, whilst Matilda sat back by a few crates and toyed with Slade's pistol, repeatedly loading and then unloading the firearm.

The fight ended. Neither fighter had the advantage. Knife to the back and knife to the face. It was amazing for one like Matilda who was really only used to getting clobbered herself by Slade, or seeing Slade rip entire squads of men a new one.

"You don't think you won that one?"

"Only if you show me where the knife was." Shado replied. Slade gave his answer by tapping her lightly with the short blade.

"Who taught you how to fight?" Slade asked as they both stood up.

"My father wanted a son." Shado replied.

"He got one." Slade replied as the pair turned their attention to Matilda who had now begun to play with one of Slade's swords.

"Careful. If you're not, then you might end up cutting yourself." Shado said as she watched Matilda run her hands down the edge.

"She's right. Alright darling, had your mother ever told you not to play with sharp things? Go again?"

"Nah."

"She always told me never to play with sharp things, fire or things that weren't mine. Unfortunately, ever since I've been on this good rock, I've been doing a lot of those."

"She has a smart mouth."

"Her brains are better."

"Hey, wisdom is my middle name." Matilda smiled as she continued to toy with the sword. "But I am going to be honest, I feel like... kinda like the two of you... will... I can't really do much and then there's you two... eh... nevermind. Perhaps we should do something to stop Fyers and help Yao Fei?"

"Can she fight?" Shado asked Slade as she scrutinized Matilda for a moment. It didn't say much. She was tall for her age, had hair that was down to her waist that formed a beautiful golden mane, sparkling blue eyes. Now if being good looking meant something on this island, than she wouldn't have too much trouble. The problem was, she was rather light. Could she run? Her legs were of only average build. Could she hit hard? Probably not with those arms. Maybe if...

"I've tried. Success went as far as to missing a guy from three feet away."

"Thanks."

"I haven't tried yet." Shado said as she approached Matilda.

Of course. Slade found this funny.

* * *

As the bowl was filled with water, there wouldn't be a solitary second where Matilda kept wanted to ask Shado what she was doing. She would soon get her answer once Shado finished pouring.

"Palm facing me." Shado said as Matilda moved her hand to face the right way. Her face still full of confusion.

"Hit the water."

"I beg your pardon?" Matilda asked as confusion faded to suprise.

"Hit it."

She gave it a light, dainty smack which caused some water to spill out. Spill out on her. Much to her displeasure.

"Harder."

Splash*

"Again! Harder!"

"May I ask what good this will do?"

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

"Laozi... right?"

"Yes... again!" Shado ordered as Matilda hit the water again, emptying the thing.

"What now?"

"Fill it up. Start again." Shado said firmly. She received no protest as Matilda hurried off to fill the bowl.


	11. Chapter 11

"Is that yoga?" Matilda asked as she watched Shado pose in a method of which was a mystery to her. She wasn't familiar with the... well... thing nor did she know too much about it.

She got no answer. As of now, the boredom was creeping it's way into Matilda's mind. She just wanted a conversation.

"Remember when we all met?"

"Yes."

"You said you knew why Fyers wanted your father and how he was forcing him to help him. Mind letting me in on it? We're almost out of water."

"My father was a 将军 in the people's liberation army. A general." Shado began as she finished her Yoga and went to get more water. "I didn't hear the details of Fyers' plans but he wants my father to be the face of it. A scapegoat. To take the blame and conceal their own involvement in it."

"Why is Yao Fei on this island anyways? Fyers said he was a killer."

"No, he didn't." Shado said firmly. "The Chinese military commited the massacre. Someone had to take the blame. Someone had to take the blame. They sent him to this island for life. I spent years looking for him. A few months ago, a man came up to my apartment, said he had information about my father's whereabouts. By then, I had given up hope, let my guard down and hadn't seen the taser until... you know. When I woke up, I was here."

She finished her story and poured the water into the bowl for Matilda to keep doing. Matilda wouldn't be slapping the water for then, as she was too busy listening.

"I am worried. This island. What he must have had to do to survive. That it changed him."

"He saved my life. He's a good man." Matilda said before Shado told her to continue slapping the water.

* * *

"Dinner." Slade said as he came back with a brace of fish and a odd look for Matilda. "You're still doing that. Fyers better be careful with his bowls of water."

"Can we please do something else?"

"There was a boy whose father dropped him off at a shaolin monastery to study kung fu. After a year, the boy came to visit his family. When asked what he learned, the boy hung his head in shame. All the monks had him do was slap water in a barrel for a year."

"But we don't have a year." Slade hissed into Matilda's ear. "So hope your training regimen is a bit faster."

"The family didn't believe him. So to show them, he raised his hand and his the table they were eating on. It broke in half."

"Well...now that's something." Matilda said as her bored expression dropped into a small smile.

"Better yet." Shado said as she got up and walked over to one of the boxes and took out Slade's sniper rifle and gave it to Matilda. "Hold this."

"Okay." Matilda said as she held the gun. Despite it's size and cumbersome nature, it felt light as a feather.

"Now aim. See this?" Shado asked as she hung up a small box from the ceiling. "Shoot."

Matilda nodded as she peeked an eye through the scope.

The muffled crack of the silenced gun and the sounds of cardboard splitting filled the plane. It truly wasn't impressive to hit a target with a sniper rifle from only ten feet. Albeit a small one, but nevertheless, though Shado had a wide smile on her face.

"What did I do?" Matilda asked as she wondered what Shado was getting excited for.

"You may have not had any training with a gun. But normally, the recoil should have thrown you off. You didn't as much as flinch."

"Well. I'll be damned." Slade said with a smile of his own.

"What's next then?"

"We'll teach you how to shoot." Shado said as she glanced at the box with the hole.

* * *

"Rescuing your father and stopping Fyers is not going to be some walk in the park." Slade said as he circled the table with the map. "They're not just going to allow us to stroll into their camp."

"Which is why we'll need cover." Shado said.

"If both of us are going to be infiltrating." Slade said picking up one the "we". Who will provide that?"

It was more rhetorical than anything, but he still got an answer in the form of a small nod to Matilda.

"She will."

"Me?"

"Her?" Slade laughed as if it was a bad joke.

"We have a sniper rifle. And more than enough ammo."

"And no one capable of shooting them. Except maybe me. No offense darling."

"I had a similar opinion."

"We should be spending our time to devise a plan, not lowering our already slim chances of survival."

"She'll hit her mark by sundown, if not, we'll do it your way." Shado said as she took the rifle and Matilda.

* * *

"Set your sight." Shado said as she watched Matilda raise the rifle and look through the scope. She had carved a target earlier, roughly the size of a human head.

"Hit the target."

The quiet shot rang out and a bullet made it's mark. Just not on the target.

"Well..."

"Set your sight. Hit the tree." Shado said as she placed a hand on Matilda's shoulder. "Steady yourself." She said gently as Matilda readied herself and her aim.

"I hope you're getting closer." Slade's voice boomed out of nowhere. "At teaching her into becoming a better marksman. It's not like our lives depend on it or anything."

Just that comment. And then he was gone without another word.

"Well..."

"Try again."

Another miss. Matilda said as she took the gun and did a rather ridiculous turn. What wasn't ridiculous was how she clipped the twigs off a tree. Twice.

"Showboat." Matilda muttered to herself.

"I see my target. I feel my target. And I fire. Give into your senses. Don't think." Shado said as she stared down in Matilda's eyes.

* * *

"How did our hitgirl do?" Slade asked as he sharpened his sword as he watched Matilda's glum expression. "As expected? Back to the drawing board we go."

There was a rustling nearby which caused everyone to grab the nearest firearm or sharp instrument. They were met by a familiar figure.

"Yao Fei..."

"爸!" Shado cried out in joy as she hugged her father who held a sad indifference with him.

"How did you escape?" Slade asked suspiciously.

"I didn't." Yao Fei began. In just a flash, they were surrounded by soldiers with rifles.

Shado couldn't believe this.

"You son of a bitch..." Slade spat out before he was knocked to the ground by a blow from the butt of an AK-47.

"Slade!" Matilda cried out as she went to help him. Frankly, he never needed any.

"Your time on this island is at an end." Yao Fei said. Though he spoke in the usual heavily accented monotone, the menace in those few words alone was clear.


	12. Chapter 12

The car ride really wasn't the bad part despite the fact that it felt like going to one's execution. Which probably would probably be where they were going. But truly, the worst thing there was about that entire day was arriving at Fyers' camp, knowing and seeing that his missile launcher was now fully operational and his plans were about to be carried out.

They were led in the tent where a familiar face greeted Matilda. Alan.

"It was a pretty good act." Matilda muttered audibly as Alan greeted her with a smirk.

"爸!" Shado said again. In outrage and in shock this time.

"Shado."

"You let Fyers right to us you coward!" Slade snapped as he tried to make his way towards Yao Fei, wanting to do something terrible to him.

"Fyers was about to firebomb the entire forest just to eliminate you. This way, you'll have a chance."

And now. It made sense. His intentions had always been good. Slade didn't see it that way.

"Well pray I don't get a chance to repay your "mercy"." He threatened, his mind smoked with ideas on how he would kill Yao Fei whose head had just turned to the entrance of the tent where Fyers had entered.

"How fitting. Everyone together for the end." Fyers commented as he approached his prisoners.

"The end of what?" Matilda asked almost not wanting to know. He didn't answer. But the radio did.

"HKIA this is Ferris airflight 637 out of Berlin nonstop to Hong Kong, we are steady on approach at 33,000 feet with wind at 15 knots. ETA two hours 15 minutes, over."

"Ferris 637 this is HKIA, adjust course to 0.6 degrees south, 11 minutes. Over." Alan replied.

"Roger HKIA, why the course change."

"Nothing to worry about 637, just to eh avoid a little turbulence."

He really did make a good actor. Or rather, a good liar at this point.

"Roger that, adjusting course now."

"They're altering course sir." Alan said as he looked over to Fyers. "The plane will be in range of Lian Yu in 26 minutes."

"Good. Keep tracking it."

"You're going to destroy that plane aren't you?" Matilda asked.

"I am going to destroy it." Fyers said confirming her suspicions. Right about now, the missile launcher looked even more imposing than it did on the way here.

"Why?" Matilda asked. "Why?"

"When the New York stock exchange reopened after 9/11, the Dow Jones dropped nearly 685 points. Can you imagine what would happen to China, the world's second largest economy if all air travel in and out of China would be grounded indefinitely?"

"You want to destabilize China's economy." Slade answered.

"It's not what I want." Fyers replied. "Rather, my employer. We have enough missiles here to shoot down any aircraft approaching the mainland and that will decimate the Chinese economy. Especially.." He turned to Yao Fei. "When a rogue element in China's military claims responsibility."

"You see, inconvenient as you occasionally were, you were worth more to me alive."

"Then you should have killed me. Because I won't do it." Yao Fei said definitely.

"Really?"

Matilda felt as though she could see stars after the fist hit her in face. She didn't recall much, save for two gunshots after that, screaming and yelling and Fyers saying something.

"Stop! I'll do it." Yao Fei replied as Matilda' senses came back. She watched as the man held up a hand to dissuade Fyers' gun.

"I know your good judgement could be counted on. Come along now, we need to get you back into uniform."

Matilda only knelt over and felt the blood entering her mouth. That and watching as Yao Fei handed Shado a knife and whispered something in Chinese.

While she worked on her own bonds.

A moment later, Fyers was out of the tent and Yao Fei was taken away.

* * *

"The uniform suits you, Yao Fei." Fyers commented as he readied the camera. "Any time you're ready."

They could only watch and listen as Yao Fei began.

"To the people of China and citizens of the world, I make this statement voluntarily. Taking responsibility for the shooting of Ferris airflight 637 to protest the People's Republic of China's treatment of me. For betraying and abandoning me to the island of Lian Yu."

She almost had it... the bonds...

"Consider this, my righteous delivery of powerful vengeance."

Click* The recording was saved. The camera was shut off. A gun was readied.

"Thank you."

There was a gunshot and Yao Fei falling to the ground.

Matilda could only stare. As did Slade. Her mouth was agape in horror and sorrow.

Shado begam weeping inconsolably as Yao Fei hit the ground with a hole in his head.

"Sir, the plane is within range."

* * *

"The plane is holding steady at 33000 feet." Alan said as he worked on the computers. "They are in range for missile intercept sir."

"Lock missile one on target." Fyers ordered as he had a look himself.

"Missile one locked on the jet's heat trail."

"Prepare to launch on my mark."

"Yes sir..."

Slade gave a look of awe as he saw what had been going on. Matilda was out of her restraints already and Shado had already cut hers. They were both ready.

Good thing he was too.

It was absolute chaos for the next few moments as the brawl ensured. The only sound over the din was Fyers screaming to his men to fire the missile. The next moment, he was gone out of sight.

Fyers didn't matter. What did was the missile launcher.

And the missile that had just been launched.

The instant Matilda poked her head out of cover, she was beset upon by a hailstorm of bullets which caused her to duck and hide behind a bunch of crates. Elsewhere, she spied Shado by the missile launcher attempting to jack the metal beast whilst Slade came flying out of the tent with an AK-47 in hand, firing wildly at whomever had the misfortune to be in his line of sight.

It was all Matilda needed to go help Shado. At this point and time, no one in the right mind would be paying attention to her when someone else was unleashing a few hundred rounds per minute down on any unfortunate soul that had the courage to keep his head up.

The very moment Matilda jumped aboard the missile launcher, she was given the instructions. They had to reprogram the missile.

"I don't know how to reprogram a blooming missile!" Matilda shouted over the machine gun fire. To answer her, Shado lifted a small panel.

"I do."

Well. That was awfully convenient.

What wasn't convenient was that a Soldier tried to shoot Shado.

What was convenient was that he had the gun wrenched out of his hands and was thrown off the missile launcher. Said gun was used to shoot a slug right through the driver. His corpse fell upon the gas pedal sending the machine forward.

"Matilda, put the chip in!" Shado hurried as she was thrown off the missile launcher with the last soldier.

Every second counted. Her hands were shaky. Her heart was pounding within the recesses of her chest as she stuck in the device and prayed that it'd work.

Tentatively, she glanced upwards towards the sky. The missile that was headed right for the hapless aircraft which was more of a sitting duck that a great flying machine.

To her. It almost seemed like the two had touched for a moment. Until the missile changed course and went straight down.

At Fyers' camp.

That was when she stopped the missile launcher and got off. She hid behind the armored vehicle to take a look.

At the missile.

At the men who only had few seconds to glance upwards at what was about to come crashing down upon them.

And the massive blooming flower of an explosion, the bright and almost beautiful showers of sparks, the fire that was set by the barrels which consumed sections of the camp and lastly, the blast which sent bodies flying in various sorts of directions.

* * *

"Shado? Slade?" Matilda called as she cupped her hands to her mouth. It was dark already, and still now she had not found any of her companions. Somewhere in her chest, something began to feel like lead as the dark cloak of dread was wrapped around her slowly. Or was that really just the cold?

Her foot stopped as she felt she hit something solid.

Two swords. Wintergreen's.

But not just that. A vest. Neatly padded and just asking to be worn.

She took the items with care. Waste not want not after all. The vest itself would provide some protection to both the elements to bullets. It weighed almost nothing at all.

The two swords, she wore them the same way Slade did. Hopefully that was the right way.

When she found Slade, if she found Slade, she promised she'd practice more with him. And get far better at it.

But it was going to be a moment before she realized the actual object of matter was the Barret M82 that she was right on top of.

That thing alone weighed about 31 pounds. Yet she felt as though she was holding nothing more than a small hollow bamboo stick when she picked it up. She made a small check to see if the gun was loaded. Something told her she'd be needing it soon.

The laughing caused her to raise the rifle in a time that easily impressed Slade. Who happened to have his back against a bunch of containers.

"I should've figured you couldn't save the day without making a mess." The man said as he got up painfully. The bullet he took earlier was still painful and apparent as he limped. The battle prior had been taxing upon his energy.

"Where's Shado?"

"I thought she was with you." Slade replied.

"Actually..." A voice called from behind Matilda. "She's with me."

It was Fyers. He had two things with him. Shado and a gun pointed right at her face.

"Let her go!" Slade called. "It's over Fyers!"

He was too hurt to stand. In just a few moments, he fell over from the pain and the fatigue. But Matilda wasn't hindered by any of those two things.

She held the gun up, the reticle indicated it would be right on his forehead when she took a look. Slowly, she lowered it a few angles.

"Let her go." Matilda ordered. Her voice as firm as her grip and her blue eyes as hard as ice.

"Amazing." Fyers commented. "A two year operation undone because a young schoolgirl had to have wash up on the shore. And now here you are, a killer."

Fyers smiled nastily through his blood stained forehead. His gun kept tightly on Shado.

"You wanted nothing more than to leave this island! And now you can. I can call in a rescue ship! You can go home! Tell me Miss Darlington, are you prepared to sacrifice your freedom for her?"

"You are right about me on many things." Matilda said as she aimed the rifle carefully. "But... I am not a killer."

The crack of the rifle echoed throughout the island.

Fyers stared at the hand in which he had once held his gun in... well, more like he stared at what was left of his hand. It was nothing more than just a bloody stump now.

He could only watched up in pain. His body all of a sudden felt too heavy to support as he knelt upon the ground while Matilda untied Shado.

"This is for my father, Yao Fei." Shado said as she put her hands around her Fyers' neck.

A small snap, and Fyers left this island for good.

* * *

"That was a good shot." Shado said as the trio sat in Slade's plane.

"I thought you said she couldn't shoot." Slade said as he cooked dinner. Despite the fact that Fyers' entire camp had gone up in flames, he had managed to Salvage much. Ammunition, a few pieces of machinery and electronics, firearms, explosives and last but not least. Fyers' fridge.

"I dunno... I kept thinking to myself I was going to accidently kill him."

"You should have killed him. Could have saved poor Shado some work." Slade joked as he opened some canned spam.

"Slade..."

"What is it Darling?"

"It's just that..."

"You're going to tell me about how you never killed anyone and how you don't want to and promise to yourself you never will? Listen kid, you point a gun at someone, most of the time, you're going to do it for keeps."

"But..."

"It's okay Matilda." Shado cut in. "You won't ever have to shoot another human being. Fyers and all his men are dead. Tomorrow, try to get an animal with that okay?"

"Okay then."

"Alright. By the way kid, tomorrow, we practice with those swords you found. You and me." Slade said as he took out his own pair.

"Oh dear..."


	13. Chapter 13

The sound of steel upon steel echoed throughout the plane as Slade and Matilda practiced with the blades.

She had gotten better over the past few months. When they began, she was just slightly better than she was when she tried to fight Slade the first time they met. And here they were now, where Matilda has learned more than just a few tricks in Slade's book, even surprising him a bit as she tapped him on the side of the waist.

"Gotcha." Matilda smiled as the corner's of Slade's mouth went up.

"Very good Darling. But turn to your left..."

The vest had made it so she didn't feel it. But there it was, the flat of a sword blade right against her gut. Her eyebrows went up with surprise.

"I didn't even feel a thing."

"I know. I was going easy on ya kid." Slade said as Shado came back with a cage containing a wild pheasant.

"Hey Shado!" Matilda called pleasantly.

"While you two were playing with each other. I was hunting." Shado said as she put her things in place.

"Nothing more attractive than a woman who could hunt. And one who can tries to fight." Slade said as she gestured to the two of them.

"Let's eat." Slade said as he snapped the neck of the pheasant. At that moment, a small beep went off. Or beeps more like.

"What's that?" Matilda asked at the particular looking machine.

"Fyers' proximity detector." Slade said as Shado took a look at the screen.

"We salvaged it from the wreckage of the soldiers' camp. Something is moving outside of our safe zone... it's been five months since we stopped Fyers." Shado said with a raised eyebrow. "He and all his men were dead."

"So maybe it's some animals? Or maybe other people?"

"There's an imaging interface." Shado said as she tried again. The latter of Matilda's suggestions proved correct as the image showed human shapes.

"We're not alone on this island." Slade said as he got ready to go confront these newcomers.

* * *

"Well someone is definitely out there. And moving closer." Slade said as he walked with his detector. He had geared up with his swords whilst Shado had taken her father's green hood and a bow. Matilda had armed herself with Wintergreen's swords and Slade's sniper rifle.

"Where do you think you're going?" Slade asked almost hostilely as Shado went off to the side.

"Flanking position. They get the drop on you, you'll need backup." Shado turned to Matilda for a moment. "小心."

"我知道." Matilda replied. Her once heavy british accent was now with a slightly lighter one. Perhaps one of which belonged to anyone who went to China on a regular basis.

"She's teaching you chinese." Slade commented. "How sweet." Inwardly, he felt a SLIGHT twinge of jealousy.

"I already knew Chinese. Uncle in Hong Kong remember? Maybe she can teach you though." Matilda said with a smile.

A gunshot caused the smile to disappear in less than a millisecond.

"Shado!"

When the two scrambled off to where Shado had headed, they found nothing but her hood.

For a moment, the pair stared at the hood. But in the next, they soon went to give pursuit in what they believed to be where Shado went.

* * *

It would be dark when they finally found Shado. She was tied to a chair at the center of a camp where a few men were interrogating her. Slowly, Matilda raised the Barret M82, the barrel of the gun gleamed lethally as it was pointed straight at the closest person's head. A single pull of the trigger was all that was necessary to snuff this one out.

She hesitated for a moment and only kept pointing. Slade was watching. To this, he put his hand on the barrel of the rifle and nudged it downwards. She wouldn't be shooting anyone as of now.

"What do we do?" Matilda asked as they hid in the thickets surrounding the camp.

"Listen." Slade said as the two fell into a deathly silence. The two listened closely as one of them men went off to interrogate Shado.

"Where are the graves?" One of them men asked. Shado only held a stony mask of indifference as if nothing was bothering her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shado replied. She was asked again with a slap on the face.

"Tell me." The man said, holding her head up to his face and his knife on her chin.

The crack of the rifle was the only thing Slade heard. Everything else was drowned out by that one shot that echoed within his ears and the subsequent shots he fired from his gun. As he burst from his hiding place to help Shado, he noticed one of the men. The dead one.

That man had collapsed in a heap. A stream of blood escaped his forehead as he lay lifeless upon the cold earth. His eyes remained open and his mouth wide open as if he was screaming through the pain of having a bullet slowly drill it's way into his skull.

The other guard was taken out by Slade with a shot from his gun. The interrogator however had been slightly prepared to face his enemies. Or enemy when he saw only Slade.

From behind him. A blade was driven straight into the back of his neck. The red mist filling the air as he made strangling noises whilst choking and blood loss began to simultaneously do their work upon him at once. To his own last relief, the next blow severed his head completely, he would feel no more pain at all.

It was impossible to tell who was more in shock. Slade or Matilda. The former hadn't even notice Matilda creep away and get in a position that would be out of sight for the three men. Not many people managed to pull one off like that on him.

But to Matilda. Her own astonishment was showing as she stood up straight, swords still in hand as she began to shake and shiver like a leaf. A bitter taste had begun to form in her mouth as she could only gawk at the two men which she had killed. Her hands were covered in their blood which only added to her horror.

She stared at Slade and Shado, her mouth beginning to move, to say something, but nothing came out.

She didn't even notice that the radio these men were carrying had begun to chatter. Nor did she seem to notice Slade discussing matters of these men with Shado. All she could do was stare at her bloody self. She only did notice anything when Shado placed her hands on her head and bloodied hands.

"Come on, let's get away from this place."


End file.
